News

2013-08-01 14:29:01.337

Springfield Player Wins $1 Million Prize from $2 Lottery Ticket

A Springfield man is about to become debt-free and even have money left over to travel around the country, thanks to some Missouri Lottery luck. Christopher Scott, 45, used Quick Pick to match all five white-ball numbers drawn in the July 6 Powerball drawing. The feat earned the Lottery enthusiast a $1 million prize. The winning numbers were: 2, 13, 35, 36 and 52.

“I went in to check my stack of tickets,” Scott began, noting he often buys Missouri Lottery games at Kum & Go, 2650 W. Sunshine St., in Springfield. “I saw a $7 winner. So, I thought, ‘Okay. That’s pretty good for me.’”

Scott’s luck got even better after he scanned the next ticket.

“I thought it was $1,000,” he recalled. “(My) heart was pumping a little bit, but I didn’t want to get too excited. So, I put it off to the side.”

While checking the remainder of his tickets, he couldn’t get what he presumed to be a $1,000 winning ticket out of his head.

“I went up to the register,” he continued. “I asked the lady for the numbers, and she said, ‘Why? Are you our $1 million winner?’ And I said, ‘Well, I think I might be! I saw the signs up, so I knew they had sold one.”

After receiving confirmation that he was holding the $1 million winning ticket, he “gave the two clerks high fives” and then drove home to share the news with his family.

“I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my wife,” he said. “I texted her saying that I had some exciting news. And I get there, and I show her the picture that I took. I said that I won $1,000.”

Scott’s wife was excited about the $1,000 prize, so when he revealed that they were really newfound millionaires, she was ecstatic.

“It just added to the level of excitement she had,” he recounted. “It was awesome!”

He admitted that it was “really hard to sleep” after he had realized he just won enough money to pay off their mortgage, renovate their home, share with their three children and invest.

He joked that one of his sons already has been lobbying for a motorcycle, but Scott teased that “it’s not going to happen.”

In addition, the Scotts also plan to have “a little fun” with the windfall by traveling “maybe to Vegas.”

“My wife has wanted to go to Hollywood, so maybe we’ll head out there, too,” he concluded.

Powerball, a $2 Draw Game with jackpots starting at $40 million that grow until someone wins, is played in 43 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S Virgin Islands. Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday night.